I will stop snacking on nuts immediately and watch my calorie intake for the next few days or so just to get an idea. Then I might try carb refeeding, I have to read through what it really means though and do a plan so I wont mess up. I like the idea of bingeing on sweet potatoes No really it might just work, I really didn't noticed a negative difference when I ate more carbs for a while. And I will try a new workout routine!

Have u tried skipping breakfast, eating a moderate lunch and a monster dinner. Meal distribution can make a big difference. You don't need to me hungry running a mild calorie restriction. Just avoid the multiple small meals a day concept, I prefer two larger ones

Have u tried skipping breakfast, eating a moderate lunch and a monster dinner. Meal distribution can make a big difference. You don't need to me hungry running a mild calorie restriction. Just avoid the multiple small meals a day concept, I prefer two larger ones

I also do well skipping breakfast, or having a small one (I usually have a cheesestick and coffee, if anything). I didn't know if that was something you wanted to try because of your history. I think it's better to be mentally healthy with a couple extra pounds (because your weight is not all that high - maybe a few vanity pounds although alot of this depends on distribution).

I'm also not a natural breakfast eater and I like bigger lunches, smaller dinners. I also do well when I skip dinner once a week or so, just because it seems to reset my hunger. But like I said, I'm not sure if that's something you would want to try or if it would make you feel restricted. I try to do this naturally, or when I"m just a little bit hungry, rather than plan a day specifically for that reason. It doesn't feel like depravation this way.

The nuts thing has already been mentioned. I"m not a nuts person, but it does seem to make some people gain. You could also try to add a few more carbs if you wanted to, maybe potatoes at dinner or something once in a while just to see how you react. Or just cut portions a teensy bit and see if it feels right...my cousin has lost a great deal of weight post pregnancy just trying to eat intuitively.

Stop snacking on nuts. I always plateau when I do this. (Already mentioned).

Avoid nightshades.

Eat less chicken/avocado more beef/eggs/lamb/grassfed butter.

Try carb-cycling, or at least do a carb refeed day.

Drink more water.

Take calcium supplements.

Take vitamin c supplements.

You could also try to see if low-carb isn't the way to go for you. Doesn't work for everyone.

Change workout routine.

Try calorie cycling.

I'm sitting here trying to make a plan, schedule my workouts and the carb refeed day.

Is it better to eat Very low carb (and low protein perhaps?) or eating a regular primal diet the days I'm not refeeding? Or switching between them all?

Should I start with two carb refeeding days or just one? I guess I will be pretty stiff the second day because I'm planning on doing some serious weightlifting and HIIT that day, not sure if I can handle two days in a row really. Can I try calorie cycling at the same time or will this be too much for my body? If I can, is it better to eat less the days I eat primal/vlc or on the refeed?

And the last question for now, when I'm done with all this, maybe when I reach my goal or sooner, what do you guys think will happen? I think it is all right to do this kind of challenge for a shorter period of time, but I can't see myself planning and doing this for the rest of my life. Will I continue eating around 1600 cals, plan refeed days and never enjoy a few nuts once I'm done? Off course I will eat a primal diet for the rest of my life. I feel so discouraged to do something like this and maybe lose a few pounds and once I'm back to not worrying too much I will gain it all back. It is much like jojo dieting which i'm sick of. My only wish in life is never to worry about my weight again, just eat what I'm meant to eat in the right amounts and be happy. I wish my hormones could work and do all the job for me.

Btw (you can skip this if you'd like), after I read yesterdays post on the blog I ordered 4 kg grassfed beef liver and kidneys from a local farm, will arrive in a month after the slaughter. I love liver pate but hate beef liver as it is, but that might help me heal my metabolism. I'm also defrosting some marrow bones right now to put in the slow cooker tonight.

I'm sitting here trying to make a plan, schedule my workouts and the carb refeed day.

Is it better to eat Very low carb (and low protein perhaps?) or eating a regular primal diet the days I'm not refeeding? Or switching between them all?

Low protein never works for me. Never. You need to eat enough protein each week to average out to your daily requirement, though you can have heavier protein days and lighter protein days.

The purpose of a refeed is to make up for the fact that you are restricting. If you're not eating a diet that doesn't meet your needs, you shouldn't need that, or at least not very much.

And the last question for now, when I'm done with all this, maybe when I reach my goal or sooner, what do you guys think will happen? I think it is all right to do this kind of challenge for a shorter period of time, but I can't see myself planning and doing this for the rest of my life. Will I continue eating around 1600 cals, plan refeed days and never enjoy a few nuts once I'm done?

Of course you can eat "a few" nuts "on occasion", at least once you reach your goal. Are you able to carefully measure them out and use them to displace other foods, or will it go back to being an out of control food for you?

I'm sitting here trying to make a plan, schedule my workouts and the carb refeed day.

Is it better to eat Very low carb (and low protein perhaps?) or eating a regular primal diet the days I'm not refeeding? Or switching between them all?

Should I start with two carb refeeding days or just one? I guess I will be pretty stiff the second day because I'm planning on doing some serious weightlifting and HIIT that day, not sure if I can handle two days in a row really. Can I try calorie cycling at the same time or will this be too much for my body? If I can, is it better to eat less the days I eat primal/vlc or on the refeed?

And the last question for now, when I'm done with all this, maybe when I reach my goal or sooner, what do you guys think will happen? I think it is all right to do this kind of challenge for a shorter period of time, but I can't see myself planning and doing this for the rest of my life. Will I continue eating around 1600 cals, plan refeed days and never enjoy a few nuts once I'm done? Off course I will eat a primal diet for the rest of my life. I feel so discouraged to do something like this and maybe lose a few pounds and once I'm back to not worrying too much I will gain it all back. It is much like jojo dieting which i'm sick of. My only wish in life is never to worry about my weight again, just eat what I'm meant to eat in the right amounts and be happy. I wish my hormones could work and do all the job for me.

Btw (you can skip this if you'd like), after I read yesterdays post on the blog I ordered 4 kg grassfed beef liver and kidneys from a local farm, will arrive in a month after the slaughter. I love liver pate but hate beef liver as it is, but that might help me heal my metabolism. I'm also defrosting some marrow bones right now to put in the slow cooker tonight.

I have done both carb and calorie cycling before. You can implement both in a variety of ways...

A: Either fast until dinner on low calorie days and then eat a big meal of protein and fat (low carb) and then eat 2x the same for the low carb high calorie days (lunch & dinner), and then 1 high carb high cal day per every week or 2.

B:You can also just vary the calories by 200 cals and it still will work but supposedly it works better with huge caloric gaps.

How frequently you refeed depends on how lean you are. I am varying around every 1-2 weeks based on life/work but the leaner you are the more you should refeed. There is a chart somewhere for males but not for females so
I just approximate for me. I would put my hardest training on the day after carb refeed.

I eat at least 100g protein every day. I am a relatively athletic female at 5'9" so I need the protein. I suspect you do too to prevent major muscle loss from dieting.

As for long term, you should ultimately find a diet that works for your schedule and genetics and it should stop feeling like a diet and transition into a way of life. For me, I counted calories religiously for 2 years while experimenting with a whole bunch of nutrient ratios and ended up stop counting calories now that I eat 2 large meals most days of meat butter and eggs supplemented with some fermented veggies. I probably eat way more calories than when I was counting to 1600 cals, eating quinoa/avocado/spinach/kale/olive oil/chicken and exercising 6x a week for an hour. The last time I counted now I eat 2000+ cals of butter beef/lamb/liver/eggs. I lift 2-4x a week and do resistance elliptical 1-2x for short intervals. I am slowly getting leaner and putting on muscle without trying. Your story might be different. I still love nuts and nut butters (friends used to set my caller ID pic to JIF jar) but I don't buy them anymore. If I have a craving I will get a small snack pack from the vending machine or store of cashews/peanuts and eat that. I think this is not longer a diet for me but a way of life.

In essence, I listed a bunch of suggestions bc I have pretty much tried them all and have only retained the ones that worked for me. I didn't suggest for you to try them all at once or for you to implement them ALL permanently. good luck!

Mot really sure why you are looking to calorie/carb cycling at this stage, these are kind of 'advanced' techniques for when you are really trying to hit ideal body comp IMHO.

I would choose a macro schedule, then set an approx calorie load per day, eat to it for 2 weeks and reassess. Without setting a calorie/macro baseline, it becomes hard to know what is actually working.

Do a big meal and overeat a bit/ have some treats once a week, for dinner, not all day, and monitor changes.

Some people can avoid looking at intake numbers, others need to pay close attention, at least for a while

we can't tell you what will happen in the future. we're just peeps on the internet, not fortune-tellers.

pick a plan and stick to it for at least 2 weeks. see what happens. personally, i did well tracking my intake on fatsecret and now like cronometer since it tracks micros too. programs like those give you hard data so you can really see what you're doing and what might need changing.

agree about the protein. it's the most sating. don't skimp and use calorie/nutrient dense sources like red meat, offal, fatty fish, shellfish and eggs. with foods like those you don't need to "add" fat to your diet -- it's already on the plate.

as for this:

My only wish in life is never to worry about my weight again, just eat what I'm meant to eat in the right amounts and be happy[

finding that happy place will take some work and will probably not be what it was. you will need to make adjustments and they will need to be for life. eating a few nuts is not the same as eating 1000 cals worth everyday. an ounce of almonds is only about 20, ya know? but after awhile, you stop thinking about them as a staple and it no longer feels like deprivation. 1600 cals may be all you need, or you may find your body tolerates more. or less. it's all n~1.

have you had your d levels checked? i discovered mine were quite low. after i got them back up with d3 supps, and began taking k2 as well, foods that i craved, like nuts and cheese, no longer were problem foods for me. we can't always tell what the body is asking for, so it's important to get yourself balanced and create an environment in which to listen better.

As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.

If you think due to one or two reasons you can eliminate these factors, then I will advise
you to try weight loss supplements such as the fat burners and appetite suppressants. They
will help you a lot in you quest to lose weight.

jeebus. or just smoke meth.

those appetite suppressant pills are awful for you.

As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.